Christie firing blanks on guns

Enough of the carefully calculated caution that seems to be governing his public posturing on the subject. Christie is a former U.S. attorney with plenty of political ambition. He has undoubtedly long ago developed some strongly held views on gun control, and residents deserve some honest conversation about those views.

Instead, Christie has danced around the subject, vaguely explaining that he has supported the state's existing laws, and putting together a task force to examine possible further restrictions. Asked what additional gun-control provisions New Jersey and the nation should adopt, Christie acts as if he's never really given the topic a whole lot of thought. He wants his task force to gather more information first, apparently.

For Christie, this is about political gamesmanship. He is a Republican seeking re-election in a state with strong public support for tighter gun controls. But whatever balance he tries to strike in his home state may not mesh with his national goals as he seeks the support of a GOP base more attuned to protecting rights of gun owners.

New Jersey, however, needs more leadership from him on this. Lawmakers are moving fast - too fast, it appears - to approve a series of gun-control initiatives. A package of 20 bills made it out of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee last week - mostly party-line votes, with Democrats in support - and full Assembly consideration of the provisions is expected this week. All of this is unfolding amid increasingly heated debate, which was on display again at the committee hearings repeatedly disrupted by gun rights advocates.

We're encouraged to see lawmakers acting aggressively, something they rarely do. There is value in taking advantage of the emotional momentum created by the Newtown, Conn., massacre of schoolchildren, as well as other recent mass shootings. But there's a limit to how far that aggressiveness should go, and there's a legitimate danger of unnecessarily hurting sportsmen and other gun owners through carelessly conceived reforms restricting weapons and ammunition. Opponents say the current measures are filled with such problems.

That should matter even to the staunchest of gun-control backers. Like it or not, we are a nation of gun owners with strong beliefs in the constitutional right to bear arms.

While gun-rights extremists have too often warped that Second Amendment right into an argument urging virtually universal access to any weapon, the constitutional roots should still be heeded. The debate can't be reduced to pitting the safety of children vs. bloodthirsty hunters.

If opponents are given valid reasons to fight reforms, their case against them will only strengthen, which will inevitably weaken Democrats' resolve. There must be little left for the gun-rights groups to latch onto beyond fomenting conspiracy theories about government takeovers.

That's why we see little reason for the Legislature to try to push forward before Christie's NJ SAFE Task Force completes its work and issues its recommendations sometime next month. Ideally, the group's findings will be used to refine and improve reforms already on the table, boosting chances of success.

As logical as tighter gun controls may seem to many, the task of turning the proposals into laws will be a daunting one. Already we've heard far too much from the National Rifle Association and others challenging a reform that should be fundamental and unassailable - universal background checks for gun buyers. If that's going to be a battleground, then we can only imagine the fight that will greet proposed assault weapons bans and other measures.

Christie needs to take the lead on this now, laying out his own positions to help craft new gun controls that can work and be accepted without generating unintended consequences. He can also play a significant role in pushing for broader federal restrictions. Without them, New Jersey's isolated efforts will be rendered mostly moot. As it is, an estimated 80 percent of guns used in crimes in New Jersey come from out of state.

We can't afford for the governor to put his own political interests first, lying in the weeds and waiting for something to come along that would allow him to duck a firm stand altogether, or conveniently derail the reforms with a well-placed veto over some technical issues.

That's the coward's way out - and we know Christie is better than that.

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Christie firing blanks on guns

Gov. Chris Christie needs to take a stand on guns.

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